[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 250 (Monday, December 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79503-79505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31235]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-014 and 52-015; NRC-2008-0043]


Tennessee Valley Authority, Combined License Application for 
Bellefonte Units 3 and 4 Exemption from the Requirements to Submit an 
Update to the Departures Report Submitted With a Combined License 
Application

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
exemption in response to an October 28, 2013, request from Tennessee 
Valley Authority (TVA). On September 29, 2010, TVA requested that the 
NRC suspend review of its combined license (COL) application until 
further notice. On October 28, 2013, TVA requested an exemption from 
certain regulatory requirements that require them to submit a 
departures report that describes the generic changes and plant-specific 
departures from the generic Design Certification Document (DCD) 
(departures report) until requesting the NRC to resume its review of 
their COL application. The NRC staff reviewed this request and 
determined that it is appropriate to grant the exemption, but 
stipulated that the departures report must be submitted prior to 
requesting the NRC resume its review of the COL application or by 
December 31, 2014, whichever comes first.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0043 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0043. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that the document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Minarik, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-6185; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following sections include the text of 
the exemption in its entirety as issued to TVA.

1.0 Background

    On October 30, 2007 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML073110527), Tennessee Valley Authority 
(TVA), submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) a 
Combined License (COL) Application for two units of Westinghouse 
Electric Company's AP1000 advanced

[[Page 79504]]

pressurized water reactors (AP1000) to be constructed and operated at 
the Bellefonte site, located near the cities of Hollywood and 
Scottsboro in Jackson County in northeast Alabama. (Docket Numbers 
052000-14 and 052000-15). The NRC docketed the Bellefonte Nuclear 
Plant, Units 3 and 4 (BLN 3&4) COL application on January 28, 2008. On 
September 29, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102740476), TVA requested 
that the NRC defer the review of the BLN 3&4 COL application. In a 
letter dated November 24, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102930207), the 
NRC granted TVA's request to defer the review and stated it was in a 
suspended status, meaning all review activities related to the BLN 3&4 
COL application were eventually suspended after a closeout period while 
the application remained docketed. On October 28, 2013 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML13325B058), TVA requested an exemption from the Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, 
Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b requirements to submit a report that 
describes the departures from the generic D.C.D which reflect the 
generic changes and plant-specific departures from the certified design 
referenced in the application. These reports are required to be 
submitted semi-annually and may be submitted along with updates to the 
COL application.

2.0 Request/Action

    10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraphs X.B.2 and X.B.3.b require 
that an applicant for a COL under Subpart C of 10 CFR Part 52, submit a 
departures report on a semi-annual basis. The departures report details 
the differences between the application and the certified design it 
references, in the case of Bellefonte that is the AP1000 design, during 
the period from docketing the application to the Commission making its 
52.103(g) finding.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b 
the next departures report submittal would be due in January 2014 as 
TVA's application was docketed on January 28, 2008, and TVA had 
submitted Revision 3 to its Departures and Exemption Request Updates on 
December 22, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML110040464), as part of 
Revision 3 to the BLN 3&4 COL application. In a letter dated September 
29, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102740476), TVA requested that the NRC 
suspend review of the BLN 3&4 COL application. The NRC granted TVA's 
request for suspension (ADAMS Accession No. ML102930207) and all review 
activities related to the BLN 3&4 COL application were eventually 
suspended after a closeout period while the application remained 
docketed. In a letter dated December 19, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML11356A068), TVA stated that they were still deferred and had no 
updates to their plant-specific D.C.D. In a letter dated October 28, 
2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13325B058), TVA requested that the BLN 3&4 
COL application be exempt from the 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, 
Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b requirements until requesting the NRC to 
resume the review of the BLN 3&4 COL application.
    TVA's exemption request is interpreted as a one-time schedule 
change from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph 
X.B.2 and X.B.3.b. In its request, TVA asked the NRC to grant the 
exemption from 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b, 
until they had asked the NRC to resume the review of the BLN 3&4 COL 
application. Because such a request is seen as open-ended, the NRC 
included an imposed December 31, 2014, deadline as part of its review 
of the exemption request. The exemption would allow TVA to submit the 
next departures report at a later date, but still in advance of NRC's 
reinstating its review of the application and in any event, by December 
31, 2014. The current requirement to submit a departures report semi-
annually could not be changed, absent the exemption.

3.0 Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 52.7 and the requirements listed in 10 CFR 
50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or 
upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 
CFR Part 52, including 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and 
X.B.3.b when: (1) the exemption(s) are authorized by law, will not 
present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent 
with the common defense and security; and (2) special circumstances are 
present. As relevant to the requested exemption, special circumstances 
exist if: ``[a]pplication of the regulation in the particular 
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is 
not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule'' (10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii)).
    The purpose of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and 
X.B.3.b is to ensure that the NRC has the most up to date information 
regarding the site-specific differences between the application and the 
certified design it references, in order to perform an efficient and 
effective review. The rule targeted those applications that are being 
actively reviewed by the NRC. Because TVA requested the NRC suspend its 
review of the BLN 3&4 COL application, compelling TVA to submit the 
departures report on a semi-annual basis is not necessary as the 
information will not be changed or updated until the review is 
restarted. The purpose of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 
and X.B.3.b would still be achieved if the departures report is 
submitted prior to restarting the review and in any event by December 
31, 2014.
    For the reasons stated above, the application of 10 CFR Part 52, 
Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b in this particular circumstance 
can be deemed unnecessary in order to achieve the underlying purpose of 
the rule, therefore special circumstances are present.

Authorized by Law

    The exemption is a one-time schedule exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and 
X.B.3.b. The exemption would allow TVA to submit the next departures 
report related to the BLN 3&4 COL application on or before December 31, 
2014, in lieu of the required scheduled submittal in January 2014. As 
stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the 
requirements of 10 CFR Part 50. The NRC staff has determined that 
granting TVA the requested one-time exemption from the requirements of 
10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b will not result 
in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the 
NRC's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.

No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The underlying purposes of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph 
X.B.2 and X.B.3.b, is to alert the NRC of any plant-specific 
differences from the application and the certified design associated 
with a COL application in order to support an effective and efficient 
review by the NRC staff and issuance of the NRC staff's safety 
evaluation report. The requested exemption is solely administrative in 
nature, in that it pertains only to the schedule for submittal to the 
NRC of the departures report related to the BLN 3&4 COL application. In 
addition, since the review of the application has been suspended, any 
update to the application submitted by TVA will not be reviewed by the 
NRC at this time. Plant construction cannot proceed until the NRC 
review of the application is

[[Page 79505]]

completed, a mandatory hearing is completed, and a license is issued. 
Additionally, based on the nature of the requested exemption as 
described above, no new accident precursors are created by the 
exemption; thus, neither the probability nor the consequences of 
postulated accidents are increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk 
to public health and safety.

Consistent With Common Defense and Security

    The requested exemption would allow TVA to submit the next 
departures report related to the BLN 3&4 COL application prior to 
requesting the NRC to resume the review and, in any event, on or before 
December 31, 2014. This schedule change has no relation to security 
issues. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted.

Special Circumstances

    Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) 
are present ``[a]pplication of the regulation in the particular 
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is 
not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule'' (10 CFR 
50.12(A)(2)(ii)). The underlying purpose of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, 
Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b is to ensure that the NRC is fully aware 
and alerted of any application specific differences between the COL 
application and the certified design it may reference (in this case BLN 
3&4 COL application and the AP1000 certified design) in order to 
perform its review of a COL application efficiently and effectively. 
Because the requirement to submit a departures report semi-annually as 
it relates to the referenced certified design was intended for active 
reviews and BLN 3&4 COL application review is now suspended, the 
application of this regulation in this particular circumstance is 
unnecessary in order to achieve its underlying purpose. If the NRC were 
to grant this exemption, and TVA were then required to submit the 
departures report related to the BLN 3&4 COL application by December 
31, 2014, or prior to any request to restart of their review, the 
purpose of the rule would still be achieved.
    Therefore, since the underlying purpose of the rule is not served 
by application of the rule in this circumstance, the special 
circumstance required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) for the granting of an 
exemption from 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b 
exists.

Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion From Environmental Review:

    With respect to the exemption's impact on the quality of the human 
environment, the NRC has determined that this specific exemption 
request is eligible for categorical exclusion as identified in 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25) and justified by the NRC staff as follows:
    (c) The following categories of actions are categorical exclusions:
    (25) Granting of an exemption from the requirements of any 
regulation of this chapter, provided that--
    (i) There is no significant hazards consideration;
    The criteria for determining whether there is no significant 
hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed action 
involves only a schedule change regarding the submission of a 
departures report related to the application for which the licensing 
review has been suspended. Therefore, there is no significant hazards 
consideration because granting the proposed exemption would not:
    (1) Involve a significant increase in the probability or 
consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or
    (2) Create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any accident previously evaluated; or
    (3) Involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
    (ii) There is no significant change in the types or significant 
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite;
    The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature, and does not involve any changes to be made 
in the types or significant increase in the amounts of effluents that 
may be released offsite.
    (iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative 
public or occupational radiation exposure;
    Since the proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature, it does not contribute to any significant 
increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.
    (iv) There is no significant construction impact;
    The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature; the application review is suspended until 
further notice, and there is no consideration of any construction at 
this time, and hence the proposed action does not involve any 
construction impact.
    (v) There is no significant increase in the potential for or 
consequences from radiological accidents; and
    The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature, and does not impact the probability or 
consequences of accidents.
    (vi) The requirements from which an exemption is sought involve:
    (B) Reporting requirements;
    The exemption request involves submitting a departures report 
related to the BLN 3&4 COL application by TVA and
    (G) Scheduling requirements;
    The proposed exemption relates to the schedule for submitting 
departures report related to the BLN 3&4 COL application by TVA.

4.0 Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
52.7 and the requirements listed in 50.12(a), the exemption is 
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health 
and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. 
Also special circumstances are present. Therefore, the Commission 
hereby grants TVA a one-time exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 
Part 52, Appendix D, Paragraph X.B.2 and X.B.3.b pertaining to the BLN 
3&4 COL application to allow submittal of the next departures report 
related the BLN 3&4 COL application prior to any request to the NRC to 
resume the review, and in any event, no later than December 31, 2014.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the Commission has determined that the 
exemption request meets the applicable categorical exclusion criteria 
set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this exemption 
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December 2013.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence J. Burkhart,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-31235 Filed 12-27-13; 8:45 am]
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